| De: |
alfred ibulu [ Profil ] |
| Sujet: |
Why focus on young people in HIV/AIDS prevention programmes?
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| Envoyé: |
Feb 4th, 2007 - 15:07:23 |
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It is necessary to have a separate guide to indicators for monitoring and evaluating HIV/AIDS Prevention programmes that focus on young people
Young people are at the center of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic
This is true both in countries with a generalized epidemic and in those with a concentrated epidemic. Young people are at high risk of contracting
HIV because, once they become sexually active, they often have several, usually consecutive, short-term sexual relationships and do not consistently use condoms. In many countries a significant proportion of young people start sexual activity before the age of 15. In some regions, intravenous drug use is spreading at an alarming rate in this age group (1). Furthermore, young people often have insufficient information and understanding about HIV/AIDS. They may not be aware of their vulnerability to it or of how best to prevent it. They also often lack access to the means to protect themselves.
In areas where HIV/AIDS is subsiding or even declining there has been a genuine commitment to HIV prevention, particularly among young people (2). Young people can make responsible decisions about their health if they are given the information, services and support necessary for adopting safe behaviors. With support, moreover, young people can help to educate other people and motivate them to make safe decisions. Working with young people represents one of our greatest hopes in the struggle against AIDS.
Significant developments have occurred during the past decade in the collection, analysis and use of data on young people and HIV/AIDS. One of the most important lessons learned has been that young people are at the center of the global pandemic, as well as one of the greatest hopes in the struggle against this disease. In response, there have been increasing efforts to develop or tailor programmes specifically to the needs and realities of young people.
Many of these programmes have also been evaluated, and this collective experience has shown that:
Young people do not constitute a homogeneous group, and therefore interventions should be designed for specific subgroups. This requires the data collected on young people to be disaggregated by, for instance, age, sex, school attendance and marital status.
Data are needed that help to define and understand young people who are especially vulnerable, e.g. injecting drug users (IDUs), commercial sex workers (CSW), and men who have sex with men (MSM).
In its cause and effect, HIV/AIDS is linked to other public health problems of young people, e.g. sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unplanned pregnancies, alcohol and substance abuse, and gender-based violence.
There is a need for data differentiating between individual and contextual factors that increase young peoples likelihood of engaging in high-risk behavior. Increasingly, the importance of determinants (risk and protective factors) in influencing individual behaviors is recognized, and needs to be measured.
Ibulu Alfred Jr
Executive Director
RYLO EQUALITY PARTNERSHIP
www.takingitglobal.org/aimarshall4u
+ (234) 803 775 8612
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